Maracas for Cinco De Mayo!

Remember when I posted that Cinco de Mayo was this week and I WAS SURE that I would think of something! Well guess what? I did! These fun little Maracas are simple, fun, easy, and MUCH SAFER than making them out of burnt out lightbulbs like I did when I was a kid!

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You will need:

Handles - I used a paint stick chopped in half, I already had them left over from a different craft. They worked great. A dowel would also work as would a tp roll. Ohhhhh a tp roll would actually work great!

Paint - Totally optional but it makes them cuter! 

Plastic Easter Eggs - Procrastinators rejoice! Like me! Just grab a couple out of your half packed tote full of Easter crap decorations!

Rice and Beans - No I am not making a pun about the food we eat on Cinco de Mayo! You need uncooked rice and uncooked beans! I used about 2 Tablespoons of each.

Tape

Glue Gun and Glue

Tissue Paper

White Glue and Water

Ribbon or Yarn

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Step 1: Paint your handles

Step 2: Fill your eggs with rice and beans, after doing a little experimenting and bothering my husband by shaking them in his ear, I decided that I liked the sound of filling one egg with the rice and one egg with the beans.

Step 3: Tape the egg shut and fill those little air holes by dabbing with hotglue

Step 4: Glue the eggs to the handles

Step 5: Mix your white glue with water, you will want a consistency just a little thicker than milk

Step 6: Cut your tissue paper into squares mine were about 8" by 8"

Step 7: Dip your egg into the glue/water mixture and cover with tissue paper. I did 2 sheets of tissue paper at a time, and repeated 3 times. That is 6 pieces of tissue paper.

Step 8: Gather the extra tissue paper around the handle and tie on some festive ribbon. (Totally optional but makes them more fun)

Step 9: Shake shake shake, shake shake your booty....errr..... your Maracas! And annoy your hubby some more!

Disclaimer - I totally planned this activity for my kids but I enjoyed it every bit as much as they did if not more!